CLARION, Pa. – With a fastbreak layup at the 2:21 mark of the second quarter, Cal German became the 11th player in Clarion boys’ basketball history to score 1,000 career points.
(German with Clarion head coach Scott Fox just after Fox presented him with a special ball commemorating German scoring his 1,000th career point Wednesday. Photo by Chris Rossetti)
Also see: Feb. 5 Boys’ Recaps earick Helps Keystone Claim Second Straight KSAC South Title; JB Beats Bway
German, a junior, took a pass from Christian Simko and outran Cranberry’s Alex Finch to the rim to score his 15th and 16th points of the opening half – he needed 16 coming into the game.
“It’s a good accomplishment,” German said. “I have worked pretty hard for it, and my teammates helped me out tonight for it. We have been working hard this year.”
German said it was a great pass from Simko that let him score his milestone points.
“I was going like this (holding up his arm as if he was calling for a pass),” German said. “It was a great pass by Christian Simko. That’s all (I remember).”
German, who scored 18 first-half points, finished with a season-high 32 points.
“I just let it come to me tonight,” German said.
“It’s great for him,” Clarion’s first-year head coach Scott Fox, who coached against German while an assistant at Clarion-Limestone the last two years, said. “He’s just a hard-working kid. He’s the first one in the gym and the last one out who puts in lots of time outside of practice. He is constantly shooting. It’s great for him.”
German was a big reason Clarion started fast – the Bobcats led 17-9 after one quarter of play and 39-22 at halftime. He scored 10 first-quarter points and never really slowed down until the game was out of hand in the fourth quarter.
“It’s a great win,” German said. “We have a big game against Karns City down at Karns City on Friday.
Watch German’s full postgame interview.
The victory improved the Bobcats to 12-8 overall and 6-3 in the KSAC South. They sit a game back of Karns City (13-7, 7-2) for second place in the South and potential seeding could be at stake Friday night.
“This win was very important to us,” Fox said. “We want to keep improving for the playoffs, and we go to Karns City for a big one on Friday. We’re trying to raise our own level of play every night, and this win guaranteed us a winning season, which we’ve been striving for. We are trying to raise our bar.”
Nick Frederick added 11 points and seven rebounds in the win for Clarin with Hunter Craddock chipping in seven points, Beau Verdill six points and five rebounds, Simko six points and Skylar Rhoades four points, six rebounds and five assists.
Matt McQuaide tickled the twine for a team-best 23 points for Cranberry with JT Stahlman adding 11.
German joins the following players in the 1,000-point club at Clarion: Don Hager (Class of 1956, 1,774 points), Frank Brooks (Class of 1966, 1,572), Ed Hepinger (Class of 1986, 1,477), Cam Craig (Class of 2018, 1,138), Roland Shannonhouse (Class of 2013, 1,135 at Clarion and 1,236 in his career), Mark Angel (Class of 1988, 1,043), Ryan Hritz (Class of 2007, 1,021), BJ Spozio (Class of 1995, 1,021), John Marshall (Class of 1983, exact total unknown), Joe Marshall (Class of 1988, exact total unknown).
Cranberry dropped to 7-12 overall and 1-8 in the KSAC South with the loss. The Berries host Keystone Thursday.
CLARION 71, CRANBERRY 45
Score by Quarters
Cranberry 9 13 12 11 – 45
Clarion 17 22 19 13 – 71
CRANBERRY – 45
Preston Forrest 1 0-0 2, JT Stahlman 4 2-2 11, Colin Zerbe 0 0-0 0, Alex Finch 0 0-0 0, Cameron Russell 2 0-1 4, Brandon Hutchinson 2 0-0 5, Matt McQuaide 9 5-6 23, Ryan Groner 0 0-0 0, Noel Bunyak 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 7-9 45.
CLARION – 71
Cal German 15 1-1 32, Beau Verdill 2 2-2 6, Kyle Porciello 0 0-0 0, Christian Simko 3 0-0 6, Hunter Craddock 2 3-4 7, Josh Craig 2 0-0 5, Skylar Rhoades 2 0-0 4, Nick Frederick 4 1-3 11, Mitch Geiger 0 0-0 0, Aiden Quinn 0 0-0 0. Totals 30 7-10 71.
Three-pointers: Cranberry 2 (Stahlman, Hutchinson). Clarion 4 (Frederick 2, German, Craig)
